Coping
by thehugbandit
Summary: "Honey-" Tadashi tried. She shook her head. Disappointment struck her hard. "Honey, please-" "Tadashi. I failed." She whimpered gazing into his eyes. Without missing a beat, he grabbed her and pulled her in for a hug. "You didn't fail." He stated kindly. "Maybe this does something else. I'm going to hold onto this and I won't rest until I figure out what that is."
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Yes! Yes! Wait. No! Oh, no!" Honey Lemon's voice carried excitedly through the lab. Swelling and diving, shifting from joy to frustration as she scurried around the test tubes and beakers, busily looking for a solution. "Gah! Why isn't this working?" She complained under her breath. A single strand of golden hair unraveled and fell limply in front of her right eye. She ignored it, fixing her attention back to the chemicals resting on the table. "A dash of liquid nitrogen?" She mused with a smile. "Ah, what harm could it do? Possibly a small chemical explosion, but worth the risk for science!"

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Hold up. Did you say chemical explosion?!" Wasabi's eyes were nearly bobbling out of his head. Even his dreadlocks were on edge, standing on their own in every direction imaginable. "Honey, remember what happened last time? Please tell me you remember! I don't want another repeat. It took me two months to get my lasers right again! TWO MONTHS!"

"Oh, come on!" Honey whined. "Wasabi, if my calculations are correct, this could be groundbreaking! Think of the possibilities. The mastery of time and space at our fingertips!"

"With chemicals?" Wasabi raised a brow, Honey frowned.

"I know, I know." She sighed. "Time travel is a physicist's work. But! Not anymore!"

Giddy with excitement, she raced back over to her corner of the lab and started wildly mixing chemicals together. Wasabi tensed, glanced frantically around for an escape route, and started inching away slowly.

"Fred…" Wasabi's voice trailed. "Fred!"

A thin haze of bluish-purple smoke inflated the room.

"Time travel smells like roses!" Honey chirped clapping her hands happily together.

"Fred! Fred!" Wasabi panicked, galloping over to the comic-book enthusiast resting calmly in his recliner. "Fred! She's at it again!"

"Chillax, dude." Fred smiled watching the smoke swirl around the room. "I'm kind of diggin' this side of Honey. No longer will any of you say time travel is science fiction! No longer will you say Fred is crazy!" He paused one-overing Wasabi and smirked. "And, worst case scenario, Honey's experiment genetically mutates us and we all become super heroes."

"Or she'll blow up the lab! Am I the only one here seeing the smoke?!"

Fred peered around the massive man standing in front of him and chuckled. "No, man. I see it too."

"And so do I." GoGo stepped into view tugging off the golden helmet from her head. She dully nodded around the lab and puffed out steam placing her hands square on her hips. "Honestly, Wasabi, I don't see why you're still surprised by this. Honey blows up the lab every other week."

"That's not entirely true!" Honey piped in from behind the veil of smoke. GoGo rolled her eyes tucking her dark hair behind her ear.

"Whatever. All I'm saying is that this isn't news. Open a window if it bothers you and stop complaining."

She turned on her heels and stormed off to her side leaving Wasabi and Fred in her dust. Fred's grin widened.

"I think I feel it working." Fred said examining his hands. "Do I look different to you?"

"Unbelievable." Wasabi murmured. "Un. Believe. Able."

"Honey's at it again?" Tadashi asked leaning in through the door. In one swift move, he peeled his cap from his head and ran his hand through his thick choppy hair. "I saw the smoke."

"Please tell this woman to stop!" Wasabi begged flinging open his arms. Tadashi laughed and entered the room.

"I don't think I could do that even if I wanted to." He said patting Wasabi on the back. "There's something amazing happening in that big brain of hers and nothing can stand in her way."

"Oh, sure! Honey blows up the lab and we're all just supposed to be cool with it? Fine! Fine. If you need me, I'll be with my lasers trying NOT to die!"

The giant man shook his head and bitterly retreated back to his corner. Tadashi gazed after him and stifled a laugh. "Ok, you do that, man!" He laughed. "And, hey! If you do get caught in an explosion, remember to say 'ow', Baymax only has a few glitches at this point. I think he could help."

"Yeah, yeah." Wasabi grumbled.

Tadashi fixed his attention back on Honey and casually brought himself to her side. She glanced up at him once he reached her and gave him a warming smile.

"So Baymax is almost ready?" She asked politely. "Hiro is going to be so proud of you!"

"Yeah, I can't wait to show him." He grinned running a hand across the back his neck. "Hopefully it'll inspire him _not _to bot-fight anymore."

"Anything is possible." Honey shrugged. She stopped, looked around the room, and let the joy corrupt her face. "Tadashi! The smoke has evaporated! That means it's time!"

"Time?"

She didn't explain with words. Instead, she tugged on his hand pulling him closer into her and pointed at a small bluish-purple ball resting neatly on the table. Tadashi stared at it, confused.

"If my calculations are correct," Honey whispered filling a droplet with water, "when this ball of chemicals reacts with water, we'll be transported three months into the future to this very spot! Tadashi, Tadashi, hold my hand!"

The boy did as she instructed, carefully tangling his fingers into hers. Heat brushed to her cheeks, but she ignored it and ever so cautiously sprinkled one drop of water onto the blob. She held her breath. Tadashi looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Her brows bound together.

"I don't understand." She muttered pulling her hand away from his. She tucked the runaway hair back behind her ear. "It was supposed to work. The water was supposed to induce a chemical reaction. I-I don't understand!"

"Honey-" Tadashi tried. She shook her head. Disappointment struck her hard. "Honey, please-"

"Tadashi. I failed." She whimpered gazing into his eyes. Without missing a beat, he grabbed her and pulled her in for a hug.

"You didn't fail." He stated kindly. "Maybe this does something else." He held her out arm's length. "I'll tell you what." He said plucking the ball from the table. "I'm going to hold onto this and I won't rest until I figure out what it does."

"Really?" Honey asked wide eyed.

"Really."

"Oh, Tadashi! You are the best! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She flung her arms around his torso and squeezed tight. "Thank you, Tadashi."

_**Author's Notes:**_

Hello lovely readers! So, just a head's up, this is an interactive story. If you scroll down to the bottom you'll have a list of songs I listened to while writing the chapter. Sometimes, I'll also have polls or surveys for you guys to take to help me along with the plot. And, as a super special treat, I'll even have contests for you guys! So please comment, PM, and share your thoughts! I love hearing from you guys, it inspires me! So, here are a list of songs I listened to! Keep an eye out for the next chapter! There will be a poll to take. Until then, let me know what you think!

Peace, Love, & Baymax,

thehugbandit

**Prologue Playlist:**

1. Dresses- "Sun Shy"

2. NONONO- "Pumping Blood"

3. Parade of Lights- "We're Kids"

4. Wild Cub- "Thunder Clatter"

5. Kid Runner- "Move"


	2. Chapter One: Fire

**Chapter One: Fire**

Heat.

Bright.

Warm.

Fiercely licking at his skin, sending smoke to smother his lungs. Embers danced and sizzled around him. Ashes fell like fresh snow softly to the ground.

Crunching

Crackling

Falling

Debris littered the floor making it nearly impossible for him to navigate. The rooms that were once so familiar now felt like a foreign land to him. He didn't have time to drink in the surroundings and truly appreciate what a mess the fire had managed to make. All he could see were

Flames

Gloating

Up

The walls, taunting him. Mocking him. Telling him his mission was in vain, and this was where he'd take his final breath. But what the fire didn't know, what the fire couldn't know was he was determined. Too much was depending on him getting out alive. His brother. His best friend in the world was counting on him. Depending on him to mentor him through the rest of his life.

Vision,

Failing.

Heat

Beating him down, draining his body of energy. Waves of nausea cluttered his frame. Cold chills tickled his spine. His knees throbbed. Tunnel vision set in. He never knew his lips could become so chapped, and his mouth so dry. Like eating cotton. He choked on the fogginess of the air, wheezing in and out, still scanning for any survivors.

"D-D-Dr. Callahan!" He coughed, collapsing. "D-Dr."

He shielded his face with the back of his arm and desperately tried bringing himself back to his feet. He knew he'd only been searching for seconds, but it felt like hours. In the inferno, time did not exist. It was a mystery that dragged out longer and further than he could ever fully comprehend.

Tadashi exhaled slowly. His mind was broken up into fragments, trying to stay together by piecing together memories and indistinguishable half-thoughts as he staggered forward. He licked his lips. Beads of sweat matted and dried across his forehead.

"Dr. Callahan!"

A loud boom expanded from behind. The momentum rocked the building, shaking loose beams and walls. He felt the ground move. Crumbling. And in order to try to escape the fireball he was sure was on its way to consume him, he took off clumsily running down the hall and jumped into an open room. The bright light of the red hot heat blinded him and knocked down what he assumed were metal pipes in front of the door.

Trapped.

He was trapped.

And everything hurt.

His head throbbed. He sealed his eyes shut and reached for his wallet. If he was going, he wanted to die staring into the eyes of the people he loved. He slowly backed into the wall, still half-heartedly searching for Dr. Callahan, and tugged open the wallet.

In all the excitement over the past couple of months, Tadashi had nearly forgotten about the sphere he carried around in his wallet. The same purple-blue ball he'd promised Honey Lemon he'd unlock the mysteries to. He'd drowned his attention on his brother, supportively watching as Hiro eagerly worked on his microbots; so it was no surprise that with time the older brother's interest in the chemically charged time blob had faded.

He chuckled to himself as he examined the ball.

"Oh, my sweet Honey Lemon." He smiled to himself. He balled his hand into a tight fist, curling his fingers around the sphere, and slid down the wall. He could feel his soul evaporating from his body and he simply did not have the energy to try to stop himself from dying. He squeezed his hand tighter. A single tear swelled in his right eye as he remembered them all. His friends. The ones he claimed as family.

Fred.

GoGo.

Wasabi.

Honey Lemon.

Aunt Cass.

And Hiro.

Was this it? Was he really dying? Never to see the people he loved again?

He exhaled slowly. It burned! It burned so badly.

"And why does it smell like roses?" He mused to himself. He opened his eyes and dropped his gaze to his fist. Something was happening. The ball was glowing. Bright blue and purple lights were streaming through the slits of his fingers. He pulled his hand closer to his face and opened it. The ball started to expand. It grew and grew, expanding with the heat. His hand tickled, and the ball started to absorb him. It clung to his flesh, consuming him. His eyes widened. His first instinct was to be horrified, but that sensation was quickly replaced by a weary indifference. He was too tired to care. If the fire didn't destroy him, then Honey Lemon's experiment surely would. At the end of the day, he'd tried his best and it wasn't enough.

Hiro.

The poor lonely boy.

Hiro.

His poor, poor brother.

He'd lost everything. Mom and Dad, and now him?

Guilt pinched Tadashi's stomach. Why? Why did he run into the building? Hiro practically begged him not to. But he couldn't. Dr. Callahan needed him. Needed him to save him. But now, he couldn't even save himself.

He stared at the blob harder. Now, it had captured the entirety of his left body and a portion of his right leg. He couldn't help but smile. He felt oddly comfortable. Cool, even. At least he managed to figure out what the time traveling ball did before he kicked the bucket. As it turned out, it swelled into a foamy cooling blob. He wasn't sure what the technology could be used for, but he definitely saw the potential in it. If only he could tell Honey.

He frowned.

Honey.

She was so kind. He admired her optimism. Even in the darkest of nights, her light shined bright. She was so compassionate and easy to open up to. He loved all of his friends, but sometimes he wondered if he loved her just a little bit more.

"Tadashi?" Dr. Callahan's voice took him off guard. He jumped. "Tadashi! You shouldn't be here!"

Maybe the heat was causing him to hallucinate, but he could have sworn Dr. Callahan had Hiro's Mico-bots with him. They churned at the older man's feet. Rumbling. Tadashi studied the professor's face, curiously cocking his head off to one side.

"I came to rescue you." The words sputtered out of his mouth without his permission. Dr. Callahan tensed.

"Tadashi, you shouldn't have done that." His voice was stern, almost scolding the boy as he took a couple of steps forward. Tadashi opened and closed his eyes slowly. It was impossible for him to breathe. He could feel the school shaking again, a second explosion threatening. Dr. Callahan didn't seem to notice. Instead, the man was focused on the blob that had swallowed everything but Tadashi's face.

"What's that?" He asked. Tadashi laughed.

"Honey's time traveling blob." He replied. "It smells like roses." He paused, trying to focus his vision on what he was now sure was a hallucination. "Why do you have my brother's micro-bots?" He choked.

"It's compli-"

Before the professor could finish, the second explosion erupted. Dr. Callahan shielded himself with his arms, and the micro-bots instinctively crawled up his body to protect him. Tadashi closed his eyes and finally prepared to die.

White.

The color of life.

The color of death.

Flooded the room.

_**Author's Notes:**_

Howdy hi, loves! So...what did you think? Honestly, I'm not sure I like this chapter as much as I liked the prologue. I really liked the prologue! It was fun and happy. And this chapter was definitely lacking in the happy department. Anyhoo, I promised a poll, and here's a poll! Favorite character out of these:

1. Tadashi

2. Wasabi

3. Hiro

4. Honey Lemon

5. GoGo

Leave your opinion in the comments, I promise it'll help me A LOT! Whoever is the most popular will get more, er, screen time so to speak. Also, please let me know how you're feeling about this story. I know everything is vague right now, but I promise I'll clear things up as we go along. Everything happens for a reason! And, if for any reason, you think I've gotten a mannerism of a character wrong don't you dare hesitate to tell me! I want this to be flawless. Your job is to keep me in check, got it?!

Anyways, here's my list of songs for this chapter. Enjoy!

1. "Yellow'- Coldplay

2. "Swing Life Away"- Rise Against

3. "Reflections"- MisterWives

4. "Paris"- Magic Man

5. "Yellow Flicker Light"- Lorde

I know! We've got some throwback in there. You know why? TODAY IS THROWBACK THURSDAY! WOO!


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